Danielle M Dick

..Our findings provide further support that chromosome 6p contains gene(s) affecting intelligence...

..This article explores how this genetic risk factor interacts with marital status, another factor previously shown to be associated with the risk for alcohol dependence...

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..These results remain significant after taking into account alcohol dependence and depression diagnoses in the sample...

..These analyses demonstrate that the etiology of adolescent smoking varies dramatically as a function of parenting...

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..However, this information has not been widely used in gene identification efforts, which have focused on specific disorders diagnosed using traditional psychiatric classification systems...

..Here, we extend these findings to test for moderating effects of these socioregional factors on alcohol use and behavior problems assessed in a younger sample of adolescent Finnish twins...

..Furthermore, they illustrate the importance of using a developmental perspective to understand how specific influences may vary across different ages, and across different phenotypes...

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..To follow up on this linkage region, we systematically screened single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across a 2 LOD support interval surrounding the alcohol dependence peak...

..There was no association with other genes in the GABAA cluster on chromosome 4 with illicit drug dependence...

..Further, none of the genes were located directly under the primary COGA linkage peak, which has implications for association tests following-up linkage peaks...

..0 on chromosome 2 (3.2, 234 cM), 10 (2.4 and 2.6 at 60 cM and 116 cM) and 13 (2.1 at 64 cM). These regions may harbor genes that contribute to the biological basis of alcohol and drug dependence...

..Despite this prevalence of findings, whether and how these distinct associations are related to one another is still not entirely clear...

..GABRA2 is also associated with other drug dependence in our sample, both in adolescence and adulthood...

..Recently the genetic polymorphism most widely analyzed in DRD2, Taq1A, has been discovered to reside in a neighboring gene, ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing 1 (ANKK1), located 10 kb downstream from DRD2...

..05) and rs806380 (P = 0.009)]. Haplotype analyses revealed the association to be largely driven by the SNP rs806380. These results suggest a role for the cannabinoid receptor 1 gene in cannabis dependence...

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..The aim of this study was to examine the abbreviated Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (DAQ) with respect to component structure and concurrent validity...

..Furthermore, investigators should consider the specific disorder(s) being investigated and the ages of the children being studied when determining whether to include parent reports as part of study design...

..Our results provide an illustration of the successful use of endophenotypes to identify genes involved in the predisposition to a complex psychiatric phenotype, a strategy originally proposed by Gottesman and Shields in 1972...

..The perceived bitterness of PROP has also been associated with oral sensation and drinking behaviors...

..The goal of this study was to identify predictors of problematic young adult alcohol use...

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..While replication is required, this study represents an important first step toward clarifying the biological underpinnings of cannabis dependence...

..These influences are also temporally dynamic, complicating efforts to understand factors contributing to the relationship between these outcomes...

..Familial self-selection of residential neighborhoods may have contributed to these results, but direct effects of variation across communities, neighborhoods, and schools cannot be dismissed, and such effects warrant further study...

..We expand on the current literature in our assessment of externalizing, incorporating information across multiple reporters and over a broad developmental time period, and in our understanding of environmental risk...

..This article presents the first full test of this LR-based model in young subjects from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA)...

..Thus, the importance of environmental influences on depressive symptoms during adolescence changes as a function of pubertal development, and the timing of this effect differs across the sexes...

..11 and 1.16. Further dissection of the alcoholism phenotype, to disentangle the influence of comorbid substance-use disorders, will be a next step in identifying genetic variants associated with alcohol dependence...

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..No evidence was found for the association with alcohol dependence in either the stress or the no-stress groups...

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..Recent studies have shown an association between cigarettes per day (CPD) and a nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism in CHRNA5, rs16969968...

..Unique environmental factors were largely specific to each stage, with some overlap between alcohol problems and frequency of use at age 25...

..001). These findings were not observed for the equivalent non-target case data, suggesting a role for the CHRM2 gene in higher cognitive processing in humans...

..Further, there are many different aspects of AC that can be assessed (e.g., frequency of use, quantity of use, and frequency of intoxication)...

..While genetic influences on alcohol dependence (AD) are substantial, progress in the identification of individual genetic variants that impact on risk has been difficult...

..The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI) is widely used to assess adolescent drinking-related problems. We asked how well RAPI, administered in late adolescence, predicts alcohol diagnoses at age 25 in a 7-year follow-up...

..These findings provide strong evidence that variants within or close to the CHRM2 locus influence risk for two common psychiatric disorders...

..However, little is known of the extent to which genetic and environmental influences contribute to individual differences in expectancies and motives...

..We examined this possibility by analyzing the association between NS and alcohol dependence in individuals at intermediate and high levels of familial risk for alcohol dependence...

..Haplotype-specific expression measurements in post-mortem tissue samples suggested a functional role for DKK2. This evidence notwithstanding, replication is needed before confidence can be placed in these findings...

..Fine mapping of this linkage region may reveal variants contributing to heaviness of smoking, which will lead to a better understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence...

..Ongoing whole-genome association studies in bipolar disorder and major depression should further clarify the role of FKBP5 and other HPA genes in these illnesses...

..We will review the fields of genetic epidemiology and molecular genetics, providing examples from the literature to illustrate the key concepts emerging from this work...

..Is their association due to shared genetic and environmental liabilities? We addressed that question with data obtained from structured interviews of 14-year-old Finnish twins...

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..Taking research on gene-environment interactions to the next level will necessitate close collaborations between psychologists and geneticists so that each field can take advantage of the knowledge base of the other...

..In this review, we discuss the challenges associated with harmonizing alcohol-consumption data from studies with widely different assessment instruments, with a particular focus on large-scale genetic studies...

..The host was Bill Byerley (University of California, Irvine, California, USA), and the meeting was supported by Janssen Pharmaceutica and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Irvine, California, USA...

..Through this review, we hope to equip social scientists with a deeper understanding of the many considerations that go into genetics research, in an effort to foster more meaningful cross-disciplinary initiatives...

..Results of each comparison were unambiguously negative: There was no evidence of differences between sisters from same- and opposite-sex twin pairs, and thus, no evidence of either androgenization or cross-sex socialization...

..The liability to addiction has been shown to be highly genetically correlated across drug classes, suggesting nondrug-specific mechanisms...

..Both linkage and association to the region on chromosome 15q that contains a cluster of GABAA receptor genes have previously been reported, but the role of these genes in alcoholism remains inconclusive...

..Given the heritability of BP disorder, the lack of agreement between studies emphasizes that susceptibility alleles are likely to be modest in effect size and require even larger samples for detection...

..Applying principal component analysis in the COGA sample provided support for some regions of linkage previously reported in COGA, and identified other new, promising regions of linkage...

..Kappa values for wellness were 0.82 for the broader definition and 0.74 if high blood pressure was included. Fraternal twin-pairs concordant for the wellness definitions are currently being recruited for linkage studies...

..The results of these analyses are likely to have implications for fields such as genetic counseling, gene therapy, and pharmacogenetics...

..Application of conditional analyses is potentially useful in larger sample collections to identify susceptibility genes of modest influence that may not be identified in a genome-wide scan aimed to identify single gene effects...

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..Future studies are planned to test whether these genes are more important in influencing behavioral endophenotypes related to the risk of alcohol dependence...

..Our data suggest the comorbidity among CD, ADHD, and ODD is primarily explained by shared genetic influences; however, each disorder was also under unique genetic influence, supporting the distinction of each disorder...

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..Thus, variations in NFKB1 appear to affect the risk for alcoholism, particularly contributing to an earlier onset of the disease...

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..We analysed genetic and environmental influences on self-esteem and its stability in adolescence...

..Studies in humans have provided support for an association between SNCA and craving for alcohol...

..01) There was weaker evidence that variations in ADH1A and ADH1B might also play a role in modifying risk. Among African-Americans, there was evidence that the ADH1B*3 allele was protective...

..Combining the initial and replication samples further increased the evidence of linkage to this region, with a peak lod score of 2.8...

..10), on chromosomes 2p, 3q, and 8q. This study, which is based on the largest linkage sample for bipolar disorder analyzed to date, indicates that several genes contribute to bipolar disorder...

..Our results provide independent evidence that a locus on the long arm of chromosome 4 is associated with better physical aging and/or longevity...

..My postdoctoral training proposal is illustrative of this interdisciplinary approach, with specific application to the area of alcohol use and abuse. ..